Cash reward to help hunt for ‘hooligans’

SHOREHAM residents are offering a cash reward if the ‘mindless hooligans’ who smashed a second glass panel on the Adur Ferry Bridge are brought to justice.

Anyone with information leading to the conviction of the culprit stands to make at least £200 thanks to members of the Shoreham Facebook Group who say they have had enough of the vandalism.

The fed-up residents have asked to remain anonymous, but made no secret of their frustration at the repeated antisocial behaviour blighting their town.

One resident, who is offering £100, said whoever was to blame needed to learn a lesson.

“I’m sick to the back teeth of mindless hooligans who enjoy wrecking parts of the town at great expense to those that have to put it right,” he said.

“I’m sure that left unchecked the culprits will continue.

“I was born in Shoreham and love the town, the improvements and the people. It’s a very small minority that do the damage, I’m sure.”

This is the second panel to be smashed in a fortnight.

Another resident, who also offered £100, said: “The bridge is an iconic Shoreham landmark.

“It would be a shame if a few idiots were allowed to ruin it.

“I suspect it’s kids, but if nobody is caught and punished they’ll probably think it’s fair game to try again.

“Kids need to realise that there are consequences for their actions.”

West Sussex County Council is responsible for the bridge, and a spokesman said it was aware that a second panel had been smashed, but it would not be easy to replace.

He said the panels were similar to car windscreens, in that they were made of two layers of toughened glass with a layer of plastic in the middle to stop them shattering,

The curvature of the bridge and the fact that the glass panels are not all the same size make it impractical for the council to keep spares, meaning engineers need to make a new panel to replace the damaged one.

The panel was broken between 6pm on Saturday March 15 and 9.35am on Sunday 16 March.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact police on 101.